


Brienne vs The New Guys

by Coraleeveritas



Series: Brienne vs. [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, F/M, First Meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2018-11-02 06:24:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10938828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coraleeveritas/pseuds/Coraleeveritas
Summary: For most of her colleagues, the worst part of a Monday arrived with the dawn, slowly stretching beams of light signaling exactly when it was time to drag themselves from bed to the shower to the car. But for Brienne Tarth, those moments paled into insignificance when the ridiculously good looking man from the other side of the retail complex prowled through the automatic glass doors and onto the shop floor, almost in slow motion, as if the world needed the extra time to draw even more attention to his arrogant allure.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This one probably isn't going to be too updated (I currently have one further chapter for this part and the idea for a handful more) but it's ficaversary day and I wanted to share something new so here's the meet cute part of a Chuck crossover fic.
> 
> Big thank yous to Sandwiches and RoseHeart for all their support! I couldn't do this without them or this amazing fandom!!!!
> 
> Anything you recognise doesn't belong to me. And there's a reason for the surnames not being quite right (it's not just autocorrect being weird) :)

For most of her colleagues, the worst part of a Monday arrived with the dawn, slowly stretching beams of light signaling exactly when it was time to drag themselves from bed to the shower to the car. But for Brienne Tarth, those moments paled into insignificance when the ridiculously good looking man from the other side of the retail complex prowled through the automatic glass doors and onto the shop floor, almost in slow motion, as if the world needed the extra time to draw even more attention to his arrogant allure. It seemed to crawl even closer towards a halt as a smattering of their female customers, a couple of the male, and Brienne herself stopped to admire the strong legs covered in crisply ironed slacks carrying the gilded demigod across the store, tanned arms straining from the crimson polo shirt, blazer slung over his broad shoulder. He should have looked ridiculous in the red, gold and white uniform, of that she had no doubt considering the number of Orange Orange employees she'd seen flitting across the parking lot at lunch to pick up headphones or computer games, but their manager, unfortunately, had no such bad luck.

He wasn’t there to buy a car charger or to see Brienne, assistant manager and team leader of the Tech Angels at Stark Electronics, though. He likely wouldn't have even noticed she existed had her friend not gone beyond the call of duty to exchange introductions after being dragged, almost kicking and screaming, to a too full, too loud club a month or so back. No, this god was the boyfriend of the beautiful, saucy Margery Tyrell, the store’s very successful HR manager and the closest thing Brienne had to a friend. But judging by the number of very public quarrels the two prettiest people she'd ever seen had been having recently, usually outside of the store just before opening, and the fact that all of Margaery's calls went straight to voicemail after lunch, Brienne doubted he was here with flowers and wine.

She had been left feeling somewhere between relieved and riled that she'd decided to move in with her brother after college and only had to deal with Margery, her former roommate, and her passing fancies on occasion. In fact, until Jaime showed up a few months ago, she hadn't even bothered to learn the names of the guys who had graced Margaery's bed for a night or two, unfortunately being in the wrong place at the wrong time to catch some in the act of sneaking out. Now, though, she could almost set her watch to the frequency of visits by the simmering blond, their sharply worded previous encounters leaving her not wanting to wonder if the only thing Jaime really had going for him was between the sheets.

It appeared the other young women on her team were also curious about his use, if she was correctly reading the looks that were bouncing around between Alys, Meera and Dacey, the trio starting to trail a few slow moving shoppers like a well honed pack of hungry lionesses while Brienne manned the halo adorned help desk, always happy to keep her hands busy and away from shop floor small talk during their mid afternoon lulls.

"Don't you ever go home?" Jaime drawled as he approached, his long strides eating up the ground faster and faster as if his very presence could intimidate her, his manners, as always, non existent. "You do know there's more to the world than Stark Electronics, right? No matter how indispensable you think you are."

"I'm sorry, Margaery is in a meeting with-" Brienne forced a smile as she pulled up her friend's diary on the screen in front of her, "Jen Clegane all afternoon." Jaime growled out a colourful curse at the name, but she ignored him, not recognising the significance. "She'll be back in the office on Wednesday but you could, I don't know, maybe call her instead of using me like an automated dating service. I have a job to do, don't you?"

"More than you know," Jaime snapped in reply, his eyes at odds with his tone, a wave of green nonchalantly, almost professionally, brushing over her broad shoulders and down to her chest as if he was _studying_ her every reaction. She tried not to fidget behind the desk while she felt the momentary flicker of judgement move over every inch of her ill fitting purple shirt, along the collected clusters of freckles that ran down her neck as if he had time to count each ugly, reddening mark, digging her nails into her palms when he paused to check her name tag. It wasn't as if he hadn't been there often enough not to need the reminder. "Angel."

"That's not my name," she hissed through gritted teeth, noticing that Catelyn, manager and owner of Stark Electronics, had just arrived on the shop floor for her hourly sweep. Though she was currently too preoccupied with chastising her younger daughter, Arya, a very recent addition to the Tech Angels squad, for using one of the television stands as a seat to realise how much difficulty Brienne was having with an irritatingly lingering repeat visitor.

Jaime smiled innocently up at her, giving her another opportunity to understand how easy it must be for him to sail through life. But as it stretched across his face, not quite reaching his eyes, it became cloying, digging under her skin, setting her on edge like nails down a chalkboard. "But it says that right above what I'm guessing is supposed to be a breast. Are you sure you're a woman?" he enquired as she couldn't help but flush and splutter. “I’d ask you to open your shirt, but from the looks of you that wouldn’t prove much.”

It wasn't the worst thing she'd heard from across the help desk, that honour belonged to a man who'd called himself Biter, a man who had soon come to realise that between a volunteer firefighter, a former champion rower and a Krav Maga specialist, the staff on duty that evening were far more than 'little girls'. But Jaime had a way of delivering a line that hit closer to her soft spots than any one of the frat boys and mean girls she'd grown up around, children who seemed to enjoy pointing out her lack of beauty whenever the chance arose as much as their parents.

While her mind stuttered through a dozen questions, always coming back to feeling hopelessly out of her depth in working out what was so special about this one that had her friend wanted him to stick around, Brienne's tongue slowly rediscovered purposeful movement, her stolen voice growling and hissing back to sense. "I don't care who you are or what you want...you can get out. Now."

"What happened to the customer is always right?"

"Whoever came up with that phrase clearly hadn't dealt with someone like you."

"There's no one like me, Angel. There's only me."

"Thank the Gods. And if you really want to use that defence, you're not a customer, you didn't come in here with the intention to buy anything."

"That almost sounds like it came from the pages of a..." he cocked his head, mindful enough to appear non threatening to their red headed computer tech, Ygritte, who was starting to stack repaired laptops to be collected behind Brienne. "Are you now or have you even been a _lawyer_?"

She huffed, crossing her arms over the tag he seemed to be so interested in. "Pre-law at Highgarden."

Jaime whistled, the first honest sound he'd made that afternoon, clearly impressed though the feeling was as fleeting as his earlier ire. "So what are you doing here?"

"It's a long story." She pulled a face, her fall from grace wasn't something she was particularly interested in sharing. The silence between them stretched uncomfortably as he continued to stare, Brienne beginning to feel like she had been ambushed somehow into letting that morsel of information slip. "Margaery will be back on Wednesday," she repeated when slow seconds slid towards suffocation, wanting him out of her face before he could try and dig any deeper. There was something distinctively unnerving about being that close to Jaime Lancaster. "Tomorrow she's in White Habor at an 'improving public and human relations' symposium."

He narrowed his eyes as if she had just told him the sky was the exact same shade as his eyes, the grass green colour turning to emerald embers and glinting from across the desk, not believing her for a moment despite Brienne feeling like she'd given him no reason for that doubt, whispering another series of curses to himself. "You're sure she'll be here Wednesday."

Brienne sighed. "That's what it says. I can't promise anything, though, it's not like I can read minds."

"Hmmmm."

A quick glance towards the rear of the shop confirmed that Arya was now sulking in audio-visual electronics and Catelyn was on her way towards the help desk. "Now, if you're not going to buy anything, I'd suggest you go back to selling frozen yoghurt, Mr Lancaster."

"Call me Jaime," he insisted as he took two long strides backwards without breaking eye contact before spinning on his heel for, what felt like, effect. "Catch you later. Angel."


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It doesn't really fit today's theme for JB week but I've finally got a second chapter of this finished and wanted to post. This is going to be slow going, though I'm hoping I'll get a better handle on things once work slows down.
> 
> Thank you so much to my cheerleaders, RoseHeart and Sandwiches, for encouraging me to take a step into the world of the intersect. And thank you to everyone who has commented and left kudos on my other JB week fics. You are all cheering me up so much while I'm battling a really nasty cold.

Despite all indications to the contrary, some part of Jaime must have believed she'd been telling the truth on Monday afternoon as Brienne hadn't seen him since apart from a couple of quick glimpses at the shopping complex's gym, the huge building conveniently positioned in between the DIY superstore and a newly opened pet shop. He was still running when she'd finished her workout, sweat matting waves of blond hair to his forehead, glistening over perfectly toned biceps, looking far too good in spite of the obvious exertion. If only, she thought as she collected her things and headed to her car, he could keep his mouth shut long enough to give off the same, good, impression.

Brienne had held on to that, distinctly unwanted, thought throughout the night, her maze of dreams twisting and turning, running and racing after a laughing Jaime though there appeared to be no real destination in sight, feeling more exhausted than ever when she woke to the sound of her buzzing phone. It was rare for Catelyn to call a staff meeting towards the end of the week, but the text that had pulled Brienne from falling further into a no-win scenario simply asked her to come in early that morning for such an event. When that kind of request had occurred in the past it had been coupled with a big announcement, so Brienne wasn't too surprised to find the electronics store manager flanked by a giant of a man as she took her saved seat between Ygritte and Dacey in the conference room several hours later.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Catelyn began sternly, addressing both the tech team and the green shirted sales assistants. "I'd like to introduce Sandor Cleary, who will be joining us from next week as a sales and stock room assistant. I trust you'll all make him feel welcome," she continued, narrowing her eyes at a number of yawning employees. Brienne swallowed her own as she felt an icy blue gaze sweep over her, wondering how much longer Asha and Theon were going to be on tour with Asheon if they needed a new pair of hands while watching Sandor turn his head, surveying the room in a similar way to what Jaime had done on the shop floor. "Sandor, would you like to say anything further?"

The huge man just grunted, taking another glance towards the exit just as Ygritte risked the wrath of their manager to lean over and whisper at the two talk women on her right.

"You know the Bolton's hypermarket in Harrenhal was burned to the ground a few weeks back," she told them, staying just loud enough to be heard. "Do you think he had anything to do with it?"

Brienne shushed her automatically, not anticipating Dacey's reply.

"Those scars are easily more than a few weeks old," the brunette quietly interjected. "He wouldn't be up and walking if he'd been at Harrenhal. It took five crews to get it under control and that building still blazed for days."

"Like the Bolton's would have let anyone get away with that," Wylla Manderly added from behind them, popping her head into the conversation from the row above. "Have you read their family history? Or should I say, red."

She tugged on Ygritte's hair for emphasis, making the computer tech yell and drawing attention towards them all. As Catelyn's glare intensified, Brienne sank down in her seat, unable to hide for long as it became clear Sandor had nothing he wanted to add and would soon be passed over to the now highly embarrassed deputy manager for the grand tour.

Brienne understood that it was rarely ever comfortable joining a new place of work and, during her time at Stark Electronics, she had dealt with everything from Arya's silent sullenness to Wylla's non-stop nervous running commentary. She had thought that she'd seen it all but Sandor seemed to add a new variable to the equation, appearing to be more interested in the coming and goings of the early morning customers then paying any attention to her stilled attempts at making conversation. There was something slightly _off_ about him, something she couldn't put her finger on, though maybe it was just he wasn't their usual type of employee, even as she changed tactics and started talking about the staff she knew and departments she didn't so much.

"We have four main areas here," she began, testing the waters. "Computing, audio-visual, large electronics, fridges and washing machines and the like, and telephonics. We also sell some games and software, but they fall under the computing umbrella and are the responsibility of that team's leader." He at least grunted that time as if to acknowledge her attempts, and Brienne moved on to the next thing on her mental list.

"I think Catelyn would like to start you off in large electronics." He certainly looked strong enough to move around the merchandise, she thought, as Sandor jerked his head across the shop with a noticeable growl, glaring at a man who had just started picking up cell phones without a clear interest or intention. The man dropped the phone as he felt the concentrated ire being sent in his direction, scuttling out of shop like he'd forgotten something important. "But you might be rotated around all the departments until we find one that best fits your skill set."

"Good."

"Tech Angels, where I usually work, is viewed as separate to all of the other departments but we help out where we can," she pointed to the cream and gold booth sitting slightly off centre near the entrance. "There's me, Dacey, who also does some work in large electronics. She's a volunteer firefighter so will only be here a couple of days a week. Ygritte is our best computer tech, but she's fiercely Scottish and I'd recommend you don't get her started on the rugby. Or football." She might have just seen an involuntary twitch of his face, but Brienne could have sworn Sandor almost smiled at that.

"We've also got Wylla, who's an art student and likes to sell people a dream rather than a product. If you see her with someone for longer than ten minutes, just try and walk them over to the tills. Alys is our customer complaints expert, so you'll probably find her in telephonics if you need her expertise. Meera works with Ygritte behind the tech desk normally and then there's Arya." Brienne waved at the smaller girl standing with her hands on her hips, clearly getting frustrated with an older gentlemen who was having trouble understanding the complexities of the Office suite. "She's new, too."

Sandor took one look at her and turned back to Brienne, letting out a heavy exhale that caused his nostrils to flare. Brienne didn't think he'd said more than a single word during their half hour walk around and although that was strange in itself, she wasn't given enough time to work through that thought before she caught sight of Jaime pacing around the help desk, shaking his phone at Ygritte, who was doing a very good job at keeping him from exploding.

Politely handing Sandor off to his new team leader with the promise that her figurative door was always open, Brienne gathered all her wits about her and strode into the fray.

"Is there a reason why you're bothering my staff yet again?" she asked, trying to offset her rising irritation with a more professional mindset. Ygritte wouldn't care if she went as far as carrying him out of the shop but Brienne felt like she had to set an example anyway. Even if the idea of dropping Jaime onto his firm arse was a pleasant one.

"It's not working!"

"What's not working?"

"My phone," Jaime spat out the words through gritted teeth, becoming beyond frustrated with the situation. "I...I woke up this morning and everything has gone. All my contacts, messages, photos. Everything."

"Lucky for you those things have a built in back up," she mumbled, uncrossing her arms and stretching out her hand. "Haven't you heard of the cloud?"

"The what?"

"The cloud. It's a virtual storage area." At Jaime's blank look, she sighed, still waiting for him to give up the wiped device. "Like a CD or hard drive, only digital. Where have you been for the last few years?"

His eyes hardened as she watched and waited. "Careful, Angel," he warned. "That almost sounds like a pick up line."

Brienne chose to ignore him. "We should be able to get everything back but contacts and photos at least will be easy enough to download again."

He paused, appearing more petulant than any grown man had the right to be, and she sighed again, catching the end of a distinctively one sided conversation between Sandor and a customer in the background. She really did have other places to be, but equally didn't want to inflict Jaime on one of her undeserving staff.

"Unless you've got something incriminating on there," she tried to persuade. "If you give us your phone we can have it back to you, all loaded up again, before we close."

"And what if I do?"

Ygritte barked out a laugh, echoing Brienne's own thoughts on the subject though without the leer that accompanied the redhead's drawling brogue. "Nothing we ain't seen before, pretty boy."

Jaime looked at Brienne, maintaining a level of inquisitiveness but almost searching for some kind of clarification at the same time. When he didn't get it, Brienne beginning to feel uncomfortable from having the flickering emerald spotlight shining on her for so long, Ygritte laughed again.

"You'd be surprised what people keep on their computers," she divulged. "Or maybe you wouldn't. I don't know what you get up to in your spare time. But, really, we're just starting to recover from the rush caused by the Irene Demova virus a couple of months back."

"I don't think he needs to hear about that." Brienne injected, fighting the urge to blush at the memory, and let Ygritte continue.

"As I was saying, Irene certainly opened a few of our more innocent eyes. So seriously, sexts, selfies, secrets, whatever, I can promise you we've seen worse."

"And unless we find anything illegal, we won't pass comment or judgement, I promise."

From her first and only year at law school, Brienne knew she'd become better than most at reading people but was stopped now from remarking on the wave of uncertainty that washed over Jaime's face, almost as if a curtain had been lifted on an unfinished play, by a silken swishing noise and Margaery's voice swiftly calling Jaime to heel.

"I trust _you_ ," he murmured as Brienne felt the weight of his phone drop into her hand, the hint of warmth from his skin sending goosebumps dancing over pale, covered flesh.

"Have you been making a nuisance of yourself, sweetie?" Margaery asked as she hooked her arm through Jaime's, always the dutiful girlfriend in public though Brienne had been privy to a few late night conversations recently where she was left feeling things weren't so perfect in a perceived paradise. "I thought I told you not to come up through the shop next time."

"My phone died," Jaime explained impatiently. "I needed an Angel."

Margaery looked up at Brienne, the silent conversation that they had honed over the years taking place seeming to signify a 'told you so'. In this case it was somewhere between Jaime not seeing her as a joke and him actually liking her company, though both were too strange to consider even as Margaery's smirk twitched at the corners of her lips.

Her head full of thoughts that almost didn't belong there, Brienne was forced to scramble for a card from her pocket as Jaime and Margaery began to pick out a path away from the help desk, scribbling a code on the back. "For when you pick up your phone," she explained, easily catching up to them. "In case I'm not here later."

"Where else are you going to be?" Jaime asked in reply, turning the card over and over between the fingers of his left hand.

"I do take breaks you know."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

With a glare that indicated she wasn't in the mood to play another verbal game with him, Brienne turned away, hearing Jaime's voice creep towards scepticism and Margaery barely able to contain her laughter, both reactions leaving behind an unwanted stinging sensation as they disappeared behind the 'staff only' door.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
